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Clumsiness

alex0103

Active Member
I have always been clumsy since being a child (according to my mum) and still am to this day. I sometimes have trouble with my left and right. I was no good at sports and have little interest in them to this day. I have also noticed my son is clumsy and uncoordinated sometimes too. He is diagnosed ASD also.

Is this an autism trait or could it be something else? Someone suggested dyspraxia but I haven't been assessed for that. I don't want to be a person who ends up labelling themselves with this and that but I am curious to know.

Has anyone else experienced clumsiness too?
 
I think it's quite common among people with autism. I have difficulty with left and right too - I have to think it through before I know which way is left or right.

I've never been much good at sports either - a school teacher once remarked that I have "no natural talent". Swimming - I can't coordinate my arms and my legs at the same time, can do the front crawl but not breast stroke. Dancing - no good at that.
My hand - eye coordination is ok, though. I can thread a needle and play tennis - though not very well. I'm pretty sure I don't have dyspraxia. I knew someone with dyspraxia when I was at school, and she had poor hand-eye coordination and couldn't play tennis or ride a bike. She had bad handwriting too - worse than mine, and mine's pretty bad.
I think that dyspraxia is on a spectrum just as autism is, so no two people with it will display exactly the same symptoms or severity of symptoms.
 
I'm pretty good at doing stuff like drawing and crafting, but about the only physical activity I'm good at is swimming. Of course I would never swim for sport. Sports take the enjoyment out of everything. I really don't like all the pressure and competition in sports. Like when someone in the Olympics wins a silver medal and their whole country demands to know why they didn't win a gold one?
I guess the reason I like swimming so much is because on land I feel a lot like "a fish out of water". Too bad I can't go swimming as much in the summer as when I was a kid when my mom used to take me to campgrounds where I could go to a pool or a beach almost any time I wanted.
 
Yes, very clumsy! Which is pretty hard to cope with, when I have always wanted to be ladylike :confused:

Was diagnosed a few year's ago.
 
I'm pretty good at doing stuff like drawing and crafting, but about the only physical activity I'm good at is swimming. Of course I would never swim for sport. Sports take the enjoyment out of everything. I really don't like all the pressure and competition in sports. Like when someone in the Olympics wins a silver medal and their whole country demands to know why they didn't win a gold one?
I guess the reason I like swimming so much is because on land I feel a lot like "a fish out of water". Too bad I can't go swimming as much in the summer as when I was a kid when my mom used to take me to campgrounds where I could go to a pool or a beach almost any time I wanted.
Incidentally, I was quite good at drawing at school, not amazing but good enough to warrant praise from my teachers back then. It was the only subject I was any good at. I enjoyed making scale model plastic kits, you know of jets and fighter planes etc. I wasn't great but I enjoyed making them. I still enjoy crafts from time to time even now.

I enjoy swimming and I can do a basic swim but not very good at it. The main thing is I know how to float and move through the water lol.
 
I think it's quite common among people with autism. I have difficulty with left and right too - I have to think it through before I know which way is left or right.

I've never been much good at sports either - a school teacher once remarked that I have "no natural talent". Swimming - I can't coordinate my arms and my legs at the same time, can do the front crawl but not breast stroke. Dancing - no good at that.
My hand - eye coordination is ok, though. I can thread a needle and play tennis - though not very well. I'm pretty sure I don't have dyspraxia. I knew someone with dyspraxia when I was at school, and she had poor hand-eye coordination and couldn't play tennis or ride a bike. She had bad handwriting too - worse than mine, and mine's pretty bad.
I think that dyspraxia is on a spectrum just as autism is, so no two people with it will display exactly the same symptoms or severity of symptoms.
I can ride a bike ok although fell off a few times as a kid and teenager. Tried skateboarding when I was 12 and kept falling off. Just not that coordinated. I really envy people who can do things like that, skate or surf or ride BMX and do fancy tricks. I would end up injured. I really envied people who could play sports, not because I wanted to play sports but because of their ability and coordination and skill.
 
Roughly 86% of children and adolescents with an ASD will have physical coordination issues. Is Motor Impairment in Autism Spectrum Disorder Distinct From Developmental Coordination Disorder? A Report From the SPARK Study

Shared Features or Co-occurrence? Evaluating Symptoms of Developmental Coordination Disorder in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. "Over 97% of cases in the ASD group scored below the 16th percentile in motor ability, with most below the 5th percentile. Over 90% of cases in the ASD group met criteria for co-occurring DCD."
 
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I had an issues with balance and proprioception, so I needed to practice moves again and again for Whitewater paddling to be able to execute moves almost reflexively. This was especially important in controlling my low volume solo whitewater boat, a Mad River Flashback. But it is par for the course to make mistakes. You just need to shrug those off.
 
I was in cross-country and did a lot of bicycle touring but never fit into team sports.
I might have been considered "clumsy" in the latter, on top of their social expectations.

I like wrestling & track in PE. I even did [low] hurdles.
 
Coordination/Clumsiness is one of the more common conditions one finds with autism. I'm in the smaller group that did not experience any problems. Various sports and physical activities was for a long time a special interest.

I eventually ran into a structural problem however. I seem to be a mismatched model. My top looks human but my lower half is more built like an ape or maybe an orc. And I am positive both my parents were human. Though my Dad had the same issue. I have no idea if it has anything to do with autism. I sorta doubt it, but It's caused quite a few issues later in life.

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;)
 
I am very clumsy as well. I cannot play any sport whatsoever. I tried, but I was always cut from the team. Growing up I was termed “uncoordinated.” Strangely enough, I can play the guitar very well. I tried out with a few bands, but I couldn’t pull it off. Even playing a duet was difficult. I can only play solo.
 
I am very clumsy as well. I cannot play any sport whatsoever. I tried, but I was always cut from the team. Growing up I was termed “uncoordinated.” Strangely enough, I can play the guitar very well. I tried out with a few bands, but I couldn’t pull it off. Even playing a duet was difficult. I can only play solo.
That's more than I can do
 
That's more than I can do
I was obsessed with music and playing the guitar from an early age. I have played many an hour for years. I have always wondered that if everyone on earth had this much experience would I just be an average player? Oh well, I love playing just the same.

You said you were a good drawer. I couldn’t draw to save my life!
 
I was obsessed with music and playing the guitar from an early age. I have played many an hour for years. I have always wondered that if everyone on earth had this much experience would I just be an average player? Oh well, I love playing just the same.

You said you were a good drawer. I couldn’t draw to save my life!
Used to be but that was back in the 80s. Then I saw there were people much more talented than me and I stopped.
 
I was obsessed with music and playing the guitar from an early age. I have played many an hour for years. I have always wondered that if everyone on earth had this much experience would I just be an average player? Oh well, I love playing just the same.

You said you were a good drawer. I couldn’t draw to save my life!
Any favourite guitarists who inspired you?
 
Extremely clumsy from the day I was born, both articulated and just downright clunky. It was never a major issue as most physical pains could brush off with ease.. led to a lot of scars and stories.. but as well I was a bit fearless. I can’t write more than two sentences without being in fairly excruciating pain that only rescinds with time and over stretching, yet can still be very artistic, musical and dextrous with them. I’ve always had issue with the amount of pressure/force to use with my hands or movements but I didn’t easily allow clumsiness or contemplating to get in my way, often being a monkey in any climbable tree, a surveyor of mountainous ranges and diving to the deepest depths.. I am certain I have dysgraphia, dyspraxia is a might but I don’t fully understand it and am basing it on a few proprioception and gait issues, posture a tad twisted and off center no matter the amount of physiotherapy and chiropracy yet requiring an extreme amount of exertion to draw myself into a straight normal standing or seated position which feels entirely contorted but mostly only recognized by visual cue and more than 2 decades trying. Found a lot of my sensory responses are actually greatly exaggerated for the better as long as I have visual acuity over what’s going on.. like the Romberg test, unable to stay balanced with eyes closed, staggering like a drunk.. but well and fine as long as I can see and correct. Part of what’s made me believe that they were other more concerning issues being had, as it seems like consciously manifesting and complete control over the problem. I’ve adapted over the years, I still can’t dance without starting a riotous stampede away from the enactment but have learned, like for example accepting toe-walking but still dropping my heel as if walking normally, simply because still maintaining that suspension in my feet seems to create a more supportive muscular structure that allows for the perceived contortion to be almost unaffected by my continued daily movements, even feeling like more core muscles are activated.. and by doing so, feels like I have more control over my nerves and spatial awareness. This all entirely before ASD and many other things were brought to my attention. To me, it seems a lot of the issues I perceive as having seem to stem from the vagus nerve.. either sensitive or malfunctioning, ASD or otherwise, it’s where I believe I have issue from how I’ve had everything explained to me. Not near as much of a clutz these days but I do still drop things quite regularly and have had to question the grip of my hands a lot.. other issues I question are gastroparesis, and dysautonomia as I lack hunger and awareness of, and suffer many problems after eating that create instability.. spasmic and energy-draining bowel movements without consciously forceful efforts and bladder awareness only when nearing full, like a dull burning pain slowly fades into existence to let me know I have to go, thankfully never extremely rushed to or experiencing incontinence unless losing consciousness.
It has been checked through many gluten and casein dietary changes, checking various types of foods over many years but have not found much that correlates with anything else, never really finding any other connections to follow other than nerves and triggers.
I can draw fairly well, and still exceptional with my hands in many aspects but muscles are always very rigid and tense throughout and tire/wear out easily, catch myself locked in rigid positions quite often. Have to do a lot of flexing and fidgeting to feel the extent of ROM and stretch out the muscles enough to alleviate aches and pains and attune nerves back to what I’m doing as opposed to reaction to sensation.. I seem to lose focus on how much exertion I am actually using, usually using in abundance compared to what is required and cognitively have to pull myself back off the throttle.. it as well leads to misfires or synapse shorts resulting in bursts or spasms that can temporarily lock position or cause me to lose whatever in my hands at the time, and all this converts to any movement or motion in my body though many are still decently autonomous. Walking flat foot is still inherently harder and blockier in movement and balance than walking on toes or the outsides of my feet, and standing or lying is far more comfortable than any form of sitting, though I don’t know if that ties to anything.
 
I have always been clumsy since being a child (according to my mum) and still am to this day. I sometimes have trouble with my left and right. I was no good at sports and have little interest in them to this day. I have also noticed my son is clumsy and uncoordinated sometimes too. He is diagnosed ASD also.

Is this an autism trait or could it be something else? Someone suggested dyspraxia but I haven't been assessed for that. I don't want to be a person who ends up labelling themselves with this and that but I am curious to know.

Has anyone else experienced clumsiness too?
Hi Alex, I too am diagnosed with ASD and I have also been told by my mother that I can be pretty clumsy at times, but through research I’ve found that it’s actually very common for people diagnosed with ASD,ADHD etc to be a bit clumsy. Hope this helps :)
 
Honestly we all have our strengths and weaknesses.

I personally am extremely coordinated, buuuuuuuuuuuut, I cant do the number thing. You know, you mash numbers together... what do they call it? "Math"? Yeah, that.

No seriously, I cant. At all.

If someone were to come up and ask me something that requires mathing numbers together, I'll probably say something like "hold that thought, quick bathroom break" and then walk into the bathroom and close the door so that nobody can see me needing to count on my fingers to figure it out.

And then I come back and answer and it turns out I get it wrong anyway.

I'm not exaggerating either. I really do that, and I really DONT let anyone see me do it. This is the first time I've ever mentioned it to anyone. It's embarassing.

And that's with super basic stuff, like simple adding and subtracting. Ask me to divide something and you'll just get a blank stare as I mentally crash.

My point is: we all have different things we're good or bad at. And there's little point in comparing yourself to others or thinking that you're not worth something because you cant do something they can. There's probably something you CAN do that they cant do as well, even if you're not aware of it.
 
I actually love sports... I'm just bad at them due to poor balance, coordination, and stamina.

It's awkward because I've been accused of not trying or being out of shape... but for every Olympian and collegiate athlete born with superior attributes, surely on the opposite end of the bell curve are those whose best efforts might barely make it out of the bottom decile.
 
I've been clumsy and uncoordinated since I was a baby. I used to spend hours as a kid trying to do things that other kids could do easily (run without losing my balance, throw a ball, play on monkey bars, etc.). I got made fun of even by adults for having problems with my motor skills, so I wanted to improve them as much as I could so people couldn't pick on me anymore. I still struggle with a lot of simple physical tasks though because I still have noticeable deficits in my motor skills.
 

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